Hate It When I'm Right
by HuntressOfDawn
Summary: Senior Year for Danny, Tucker and Sam and everything was fine, especially for Danny. Great friends, grades, social status. But then Lancer says that their whole English class was participating in an exchange programme and suddenly things start going south. Who were these people and why would their B - Average class be picked for something like this? Rated T for language and content
1. Chapter 1

**Full Summary:**

 **Danny Fenton, seventeen and finally in his last year of Casper High, was curious as to why his entire English class was picked to go to a sponsored trip to Europe, apparently for an exchange programme with another participating school in Italy. As far as he knew, there was nothing special about his class. But he was about to find out that this 'trip' was far more trouble than it had offered.**

 **Chapter 1 - Filler**

* * *

It was school opening after spring break. Casper High was littered with students; old and new. But there was a particular trio that caught everyone's attention.

Through the front doors of Casper High entered Danny Fenton, Sam Manson and Tucker Foley. Well, at least that's who their past classmates thought they were – they looked so _different_!

The most noticeable of the group was Danny; gone was the scrawny, short boy that used to shy away from bullies. Now he was tall and had an air of confidence about him. Not even his past bullies dared challenge him, although they settled on glaring at him from a distance. His signature white baggy t-shirt and jeans were gone, instead wearing a plain white V-neck shirt, dark blue jeans and a black and red jacket.

Sam Manson, a girl who had always been a little on the skinny side because of her vegetarian diet, had filled out in all the right places but still kept up with her gothic look, adopting skinny black jeans and a form-fitting t-shirt with fishnet fingerless gloves.

Tucker Foley, who had been as short and as scrawny as his friend, was now only a few inches shorter from his friend and had finally gotten rid of his signature red beret, now only wearing a simple dark blue sweater and faded blue jeans.

Their entrance had made such and effect towards the student body that there was an actual standstill in the hall for a few minutes. When they realized that they were being stared at by their classmates, the Trio, who had been chatting and minding their own business, stopped and looked around.

"Anyone else feels like the centre on the world?" said Tucker, glancing at the still staring faces.

Sam growled, "What? Something on my face?!" she yelled to the entire hallway.

Those who had been staring, both classmates and juniors who had had the pleasure to experience Sam Manson's temper first hand, paled and looked away.

"Much better," she said, not noticing her friends' expressions, "Are you coming, or not?"d

"Uhh… yeah…"

"…Coming,"

They would like to say that school went on like it always had, with bullies wailing on Danny and Tucker, or the "A-Lister" females kept pestering Sam to be more like them but they didn't. In fact, they left the Trio alone like they were some kind of plague.

What had surprised the teachers was how much Danny had improved, like how he had been before his week of absence from the accident.

Danny figured that he needed to improve more in class, in fact, a lot more so Sam and Tucker made a deal with his parents; if he could do well in his soft more finals and pass with flying colours, his parents would get him a black 2007 Honda CBR1000RR, which he had been eyeing for the past year.

He still wasn't sure how he did it, juggling through schoolwork and ghost hunting, but he managed to bring his grade up to an A+. When he got his final report card for that year, all he could do was watch in blank fascination as he saw all the A's and A+'s for all his subjects.

There was no question; he got the bike. And more importantly, he had made his parents proud.

Yes, that _was_ more important to Danny; new bike or not.

Ever since that day, he couldn't get his parent's faces out of his head; how proud they were of him, and he felt like it was the first time in a long time that they had looked at him like that. He made a promise to himself that he would make them look at him like that more often. If he couldn't get them to like his ghost half, the least he could do was make them proud of his human half.

* * *

The bell rang and students filed into the class, but the chattering was near impossible to stop.

"Alright class!" yelled Mr Lancer, "I have some very important news to tell you!"

The chatters didn't stop.

"Excuse me, can I have your attention please?!" he yelled again.

No one bothered to listen, except for the three mysterious teenagers sitting in the very back, who were in all honesty only watching in amusement as their teacher struggled with order of the class.

"Pride and Prejudice…" Mr Lancer moaned into his hands.

At the back of the class, a certain goth had had enough.

"HEY!"

The class silenced and all eyes turned to her.

"If you're quite done with the noise, we have a class," she snarled.

So as to not anger her any further, the class slowly took their seats and sulked like little children.

Mr Lancer sighed, "Thank you Miss Manson, but I had it all under control". To be honest, he knew that he didn't have it under control, but his pride won't allow him to admit that. "Now, as I was saying earlier, I have some very important news to tell you, from ISEP. Now those who do not know what ISEP is, it is the International Schools Exchange Programme."

That caught everyone's attention, and a small excited muttering began to echo in the classroom again.

"I am happy to announce that this very class has been picked by ISEP to participate in its exchange programme. You will be exchanging with a prestigious school in… "Mr Lancer paused dramatically, "Europe! Well, more specifically, Italy!"

The class erupted into cheers and whoops of excitement. Imagine, their class was picked for an exchange programme in Europe! Who in Amity Park can say that they've had this opportunity? The class kept on cheering, all except the blue-eyed boy in the back of the class.

"Dude, stop being so gloomy! We're going to Europe, smile a little!" said Tucker, patting his best friend in the back.

"I'm not saying it's not great and all, but… I don't know, something feels off about this guys," said Danny.

"What do you mean?" Sam asked.

"I mean… and no offence to anyone, but our class isn't the best in the school. Sure, we've been doing pretty well and our grades are at least meeting the needed average, but come on! There are other classes that have been going over the needed GPA and… where are _they_ in this? Not to mention, some of the students in here aren't the brightest," he said, subtly looking pointedly at the A – Lister's.

Sam and Tucker both frowned, seeing the truth in his words. Needing to ask, Sam raised her hand in the air. "Mr Lancer?"

"Yes, Miss Manson?"

"Not to be ungrateful, or anything, but why exactly are we chosen for this programme? Shouldn't it be the advanced classes that get to go?"

Trying vainly to ignore the sudden silence in the room, Mr Lancer said, "Well, as for that Miss Manson, I'm not so sure. All I know is that ISEP contacted us just before school re-opened and told us that they wanted this specific class to join in their programme. They had an earlier conversation with Principle Ishiyama and they were able to thoroughly examine all the eligible classes and they came up with this class." He suddenly looked thoughtful, "I think you have a point there Miss Manson, I'll get back to you on that. But now that the excitement has finally levelled down, lets continue on with our lesson."

Groans filled the air.

* * *

The bell sounded, signalling the end of the period.

Mr Lancer sighed, hoping that he would have a few more minutes. "Alright class, that's all for today. And before you leave, please step up here and collect your permission slips for the trip. I need them signed by your parents or guardian and returned to me tomorrow. Any further inquiries that you need about the trip will be found on the slip. Thank you."

Excitement filled the air around the students as they discussed the trip.

"Oh my gawwdd, can you believe it? Italy!" squealed Star.

"I know! I am so excited!" said Paulina in her thick Latina accent. "But that goth girl had to ruin it. So what if the advanced classes weren't picked?"

"Yeah, we get to go to Italy! Some people are just so self-centered," Star sniffed.

"I know right!"

Behind the two girls were Danny, Sam and Tucker walking with their head bowed totally lost in thought.

"Okay, I give up! Come on man, what makes you think that this is some plot? Maybe it's _just_ an exchange programme!" Tucker exclaimed.

"Yeah, 'cause it's always just an exchange programme. Just like it was _just_ a camping trip! Or how it was just an Egyptian exhibit! Come on Tucker, this is us we're talking about, and _me_! Things aren't just, _just_ with us. You should know this," Danny snapped.

"Alright, fine! Geez!" Tucker grumbled, but seeing the argument wasn't in his favour, he let it go.

"But you're right Danny," Sam started, "this doesn't add up at all."

"Yeah, well… I don't always like being right. Let's hope I'm wrong. " Danny muttered as they made their way to their next class.

* * *

"How did I forget that we had gym today?" Danny moaned. It was after lunchtime and their last subject of the day was P.E.

"Just hope for the best I guess…?" said Tucker uncertainly.

Of course the two friends knew why Danny was so worried; it was because of a ghost hunting accident. It was late and they were all tired but Skulker was being annoying and as persistent as ever trying to make Danny his trophy pelt. He had just upgraded his weapons systems and had acquired new blades. Long story short, the new wound on Danny's hip was only half-healed and still ached.

"Does it still hurt?" Sam asked.

"A little, but I'm fine." Danny said, immediately noticing his friend's flat stares directed at him, "What…?"

"Sure, you're fine," Tucker said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "Come on man, let's just go change before Tetslaff whips out butts."

Danny nodded, "See you later Sam,"

"Yeah, see you," she waved as they made their way to their respective locker rooms.

* * *

"Rope climbing is a bitch," Danny groaned. He rubbed his hip tenderly, feeling the throbbing ache when it was his turn on the ropes.

"Yeah, the bitchiest," Tucker groaned, rubbing his aching shoulders. "How's your hip?" he saw the way Danny's face had tensed when he was climbing the ropes.

"What? Oh, um… fine," he mumbled.

Tucker narrowed his eyes; he was used to Danny being like this. Saying that he was fine when he really wasn't. He would just have to keep a close eye on him.

They quickly finished changing and met up with Sam soon after.

"I swear you take a longer time changing than most girls do," she smirked when she saw them walking towards her, books for her next class already in hand.

"Hey! This is a masterpiece," Tucker said, gesturing to himself, "It takes time to create masterpieces, okay?"

Danny sighed, "Let's just get to class okay? I don't want to be late."

Hopefully the day would go on without any problems.

* * *

Surprisingly, the day went on without a hitch; Danny bid his friends goodbye as he hopped on his motorcycle and made his way home. Usually, they would just hang out at the Nasty Burger but first days were always brutal. All the teachers had given them enough work to last them a whole week. Instead they promised to meet up later that night for ghost patrol.

And maybe, just maybe, tomorrow he would find out he was wrong about this whole "trip being a trap" thing.

He hoped.

* * *

 **Hey there. This is a new story, hopefully one that I don't leave just because I'm lazy.**

 **I know the chapter is a little long, but I just wanted to make sure there wasn't any confusion as this is an alternated universe.**

 **Read, review and enjoy!**


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

* * *

Days after the announcement in Lancer's class, they finally got their permission slips that were to be signed by parents when they got home.

True to his word, Lancer did look into the issue that Sam had brought up the other day; he had simply said that there were no mistakes and they had verified again with the people from ISEP. It was confirmed that they were going on this trip.

This didn't sit well with Danny.

He had been on edge ever since the news had been made known. Call him paranoid, but he could almost feel eyes on him, watching him wherever he went. It came to a point where he begged Sam and Tucker carry some form of ghost weapon wherever they went. They had joked that ghost hunting had finally messed with his head, but Danny could tell that they were concerned too.

What made matters worse though, was that Danny's parents thought it was such a good idea that they agreed to sign the papers right away. He had barely said the words, 'exchange programme' before the piece of paper was snatched from his hands.

"But don't you think it's a little strange? I mean, we aren't exactly the ideal class to go to something like this," he tried explaining to them.

His dad, Jack, waved his giant hand in a dismissing manner, "Nonsense Danny-boy! This is a great opportunity for you,"

"Yeah Danny," his mom continued, "This'll look really good on your college application,"

"Mom, this isn't about college," he said, "I'm just not as in love with this idea as you guys are, which I have to admit, is really weird,"

"Oh Danny, sometimes you worry too much! It's just a trip, what could go wrong?" said his dad.

' _What could go wrong?'_

He actually said it. Those damn words. He barely stopped himself from face-palming in front of his parents. Did they learn nothing from living in Amity Park? He might as well just summon the ghost into his living room right now!

Danny sighed, "I miss Jazz."

Jazz was of course majoring in Psychology at Harvard, already the top of her class. There was even word that she would be graduating early, Sum Cum Laude and all that. Sure they talked from time to time on the phone, but he was constantly missing her whenever they had to go on patrols, or when he needed his wounds stitched up.

His mother sighed, "Look Danny, I know that without Jazz being here, it's been a little quiet," she got up from her seat to face him. It still amazed him that he was now a head taller than her, "Just try to have fun, okay? It'll be good for you to make more friends, relax,"

"You really worry too much Danny! This is your chance to wind down, have fun!" his dad said, standing up and thumping him in the back which hurt more than he cared to admit.

Rubbing the back of his neck in hopes to ease the building tension, Danny sighed for the millionth time that day. "Okay, fine… yeah, I'll try to have fun and… whatever,"

 _So that was a waste of time,_ Danny thought as he made his way up to his room. Talking to his mom and dad about a problem was like talking to a puppy; short, pointless and probably means you're insane.

He fell onto his bed with a hiss; his time in PE class was interrupted by a few ectopusses thinking it would be funny to mess with him today. Sure, he caught them pretty quickly and made it back in time before Tetslaff even noticed he was gone but he did get tossed around here and there and his back paid for it dearly. He wouldn't be surprised if it were black and blue right now.

Just then, his phone vibrated. It was a text from Tucker saying that he and Sam were waiting for him at the mall. He wasn't really in the mood to hang but it was better than just lazing around the house.

Sitting up with a groan, he grabbed his leather jacket (a gift from Sam) and made his way downstairs.

"Hey mom, dad, I'm going to the mall with Sam and Tuck okay?" he said, shrugging on his jacket and walking out the front door.

"Be careful sweetie!" his mom yelled.

"Call us if you see a ghost!" his dad yelled.

Danny rolled his eyes, "Okay!"

He took out the keys to his Honda and ignited the engine. He would never get tired of the steady humming of her engine. _Thanks mom, thanks dad_ , he thought with glee as he zipped pass the neighbourhood.

He arrived at the mall in less than ten minutes, his thrumming engine catching quite a few stares, making him blush. Danny remembered the time where he would bask in the attention, but things had changed since then. He figured that the only way for him to keep his secret from getting out was to keep the attention away from him.

Quickly, (and trying to avoid the stares as much as possible) he made his way inside to meet up with Tucker and Sam. We wondered what they were up to; they rarely hung out just for fun these days. He wasn't complaining or anything, but he did miss the days where he could just be carefree about anything and not worry about anyone.

He hadn't felt like that since he was fourteen. Those were the days.

Finally, Danny saw them at that smoothie joint that he could never remember the name of. He noticed that they already got a smoothie for him, his favourite too; strawberry and banana.

"Hey guys," he smiled.

"Hey dude," said Tucker, fist bumping with him.

"Hi Danny," Sam smiled back.

"So you wanna tell me why we're here?"

"My parents got me this dress that they want me to wear during our ISEP trip," started Sam, and then paused dramatically, "It was pink!"

Simultaneously, Danny and Tucker rolled their eyes; this was always the case. Danny chuckled quietly to himself. This is what Danny and Sam had in common; the fact that their parents didn't understand them completely. Sure, he knew that his parents loved him, Sam knew that too but when it came to the heart to hearts with them, it was next to non-existent. Tucker had it easy with his parents; they supported him n matter what.

They spent some more time chatting and just hanging out when Danny suddenly stopped and gasped, a blue-white mist coming out of his mouth. Before he could say anything, a ghost floated into the centre of the atrium, a ghost that Danny and his friends had never seen before, and that was saying something.

It had the normal greenish skin that he had seen on most ghosts; his faded brown shoulder length hair was choppy and thin. He had red eyes and little fangs that sprouted from his mouth. The fact that unnerved Danny so much was that this ghost was wearing a strait jacket, his whole ghostly frame shaking and twitching as he looked at his surroundings. His crimson eyes glinting madly as he looked at the fearful people beneath him, almost relishing the distress he had caused.

 _He's new,_ Danny thought, "What are the chances he's a friendly?" he asked his friends.

They looked at him with identical flat faces, "That was funny Danny," said Sam sarcastically.

"Right," he said, "Guys, take cover, I'll handle this," and with that he took cover behind a pillar that was conveniently vacant and changed for the second time that day into his alter ego.

Not missing a beat, Danny Phantom flew towards the offending ghost, approaching him slowly so he won't alarm him too much.

"Hey you!" he said.

The ghost's spectral head snapped towards him and he hated to admit it bit it scared him a little bit.

"Me?" the ghost rasped, head cocking to the side, smiling toothily at him.

"Yeah you, what's your name?"

The ghost cocked his head more, making his head look like it was morbidly disjointed. Danny floated a few feet back. Whoever this ghost was, he had a feeling that it wasn't a good idea to just start a fight. This had to be handled delicately.

"Hmm…" the ghost finally said, "I'm sure I had one, seems they burnt it from my mind,"

"Oh, and why do you say that?" said Danny warily.

Suddenly, the ghost's face morphed into something that only came out of your worst nightmares. His red eyes started glowing, his thin mouth stretched out and became a two-foot long opening, teeth elongated into the size of Danny's fingers. His choppy hair started swaying from a non-existent wind, and then he – _it_ – screamed.

"THEY BURNT MY MIND!"

Instantly, all the glass in the shopping complex shattered. Its ethereal voice filling the place, making people take cover, holding their ears in pain.

Danny didn't have it any easier, since his own hearing was more sensitive than most humans and – lucky him – _and_ he was right in front of the ghost. The scream blew him away, making him impact with the wall behind him painfully, concrete breaking behind him leaving a very obvious Danny-shaped dent.

He groaned his head spinning. He touched something wet on the sides of his face and winced. His ears were leaking ectoplasm. Oh, and look at that; his arm was bleeding too. _Fun._ Danny shook his head, trying to get rid of his dizziness, and maybe get his vision to focus again.

When his vision did finally focus, the whole inside of the mall was in disarray. Broken glass everywhere, chairs and tables overturned, and people running around in panic. The unknown ghost was nowhere to be seen.

After making sure to hide in a small place, he changed back into human and tried to look for his friends in the panic. He found them hiding behind a pillar, small ghost weapons in hand.

"Guys! Are you okay?" Danny asked them, eyes roaming over their figures to find any possible injuries.

"Yeah, we're okay Danny," Sam replied.

"But you aren't," said Tucker, looking at his bleeding ears and arm.

"I'll be fine," Danny waved off, "Did you guys see where the guy went? I kinda… blacked out for a second,"

"And blacking out is totally fine," Sam snarked.

"We need to get out of here," said Danny, looking at the mass panic around him. At least the mall security guards had the sense to usher the civilians towards the entrance; the place was actually evacuating quickly. "Come on, let's go," he said, pulling his friends to the entrances.

They made it out without any problems, and by then the police had arrived along with two ambulances in tow.

"Danny!"

He turned; how did he not see his parents' RV next to the police cars? Him mom was running towards him, his dad lumbering behind her. She hugged him so fiercely, his body actually ached.

"Oh Danny, are you okay?" she asked, looking him over, instantly noticing the blood on the sides of his face and arm. "Look at you, you're bleeding!"

"Yeah, uh…" he looked to his friends for help; they just looked at him as if saying, _'your parents, not ours'_

Well, this was going to be fun; explaining to his ghost-hating parents that a ghost attacked their son.

Yep, _fun._

* * *

"So how'd your parents take it?" asked Sam.

It was three days after the unknown ghost attacked the mall. Danny, Sam and Tucker had been under heavy protection from their parents after they heard that their kids were in the mall during the attack. As many parents did for their kids after the attack but Danny had it the worst; after he was forced to explain why his ears were bleeding, his parents absolutely refused to leave his side, making sure that they patched up any injuries what were visible.

"Let's just say that I'm lucky to see sunlight today," Danny grumbled.

"Well, think of it this way; now maybe they won't be as excited as they were to let you go on the trip," said Tucker, smirking.

Danny looked blankly at him, "I don't even know if that's a good or a bad thing,"

Yeah, he didn't want to go on the trip because no matter what was said to him, he still thought it was sketchy but on the other hand, he didn't want to stay cooped up at home with only his parents while his friends all went to Europe.

"So, you're coming then? I personally just can't wait to get out of here," said Sam, "My parents tried to feed me sleeping pills 'cause they thought I'd have trouble sleeping. I actually took one just to shut them up," she sighed.

"Jeez Sam," Tucker shuddered, "I actually didn't mind my parents that much; I just wasn't allowed to stay up late,"

"Lucky you," Danny and Sam grumbled.

* * *

"Alright class! Are you excited?" said Mr Lancer, beaming at them, "In two days, you'll be on a plane to Italy!"

The class hollered in agreement.

"Alright, settle down. And to those who have not handed in their permission slips from parents, please do so now. I won't accept any more after the end of this class as we need to make your official passes for the trip,"

"Now, let's begin the class,"

* * *

 **Yes, that's the end of this chapter. Not too much happening here. But you met a new ghost, didn't you?**

 **Next chapter; our favourite trio get on a plane with all their school mates on their way to Italy! I'm** _ **pretty sure**_ **nothing happens on the way there.**

 **Read, review and enjoy!**

 **Oh, and please give me feedback and tell me if I made any grammatical errors. Thanks!**


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

 **First of all, thank you so much for the reviews! You made me smile and totally made my day. And thanks so much for the follows! I'm actually surprised.**

 **I forgot to make a few things clear; Valerie will not be joining this trip to Italy. I had to pick someone to stay behind to take care of Amity, no offence to Jack and Maddie. Heh.**

 **And there will be a total of fifteen students on this trip, ranging from the A-Listers to the nerds, some of my own original characters and of course, the Trio.**

 **Anyways, the third chapter is here, hopefully this will answer some your questions.**

* * *

Danny walked around his room, going over the checklist in his head one more time. He knew he had everything ready in his duffel bag; clothes, toiletries, money, _weapons_ but he still felt anxious. He had been a nervous wreck as the day where he would leave Amity got closer. Everywhere he went, he would look over his shoulder, any little sound, he would jump a mile. It was literally driving him crazy.

He was of course worried; who would handle the ghosts coming through the portal when he was away? Sure, Valerie was capable enough, but with her dad still watching her every move, it made her hunting days a lot harder these days.

He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. Maybe he was just being overly paranoid. Valerie would be here, in Amity making sure that their city is safe. Sure, she absolutely hated his alter-ego but when it came to saving Amity Park, she would do anything. She could handle stuff for two weeks right?

With that thought, he checked his things one more time. Nodding to himself, satisfied that he didn't forget anything, he slung his duffel over his shoulder and made his way downstairs.

His mom and dad were already there, eating breakfast and talking quietly. Danny could tell from their faces that they were a little anxious too. When they saw him, their faces melted into warm smiles.

"Morning sweetheart!" greeted Maddie.

"Mornin' Danny boy!" said Jack, his voice impossibly loud for early hours like this.

"Morning," Danny smiled as he sat down, helping himself to some pancakes that his mother made. He realised quickly that he didn't really have much of an appetite and ended up nibbling on it.

"Are you okay honey?" his mom asked him; she had seen him spacing off, only nibbling at his breakfast. "Excited?"

Before Danny could say anything, the front door opened, and his sister Jazz stepped inside.

"Jazz! What are you doing here?" Danny said, standing up from his seat. "You weren't supposed to be here until next week!"

"Hi guys!" she said as her family came to greet her. "I finished my semester last week, so my professors said I could head home early. I figured I might as well send my little brother off on his trip," she finished with reaching up and ruffling Danny's hair.

"Did you just say little?" Danny huffed, looking down at his sister. "I'm almost as tall as dad!"

"Oh Danny, you'll always be little to me," she said, hugging him.

Danny gladly hugged her back; he really had missed her ever since she'd been gone for college. Sure, he had always complained and said that she was annoying but coming home from ghost patrols without her there waiting for him was getting lonely.

"So should we get going? You don't want to be late Danny," said Maddie, looking at her watch. His flight leaves at 8.15 am, and it was already 7.45.

"Yeah sure mom, let's go," he said, slinging his duffel bag over his shoulder.

"Oh Danny, before we go," his dad said, "Here," he pulled a Fenton Wrist Ray and a tiny device Danny had never seen before from his many pockets.

"Thanks Dad," said Danny, taking the wrist ray and putting it in his bag. He didn't have to tell his dad that he already had like five of those in there. "But what's that supposed to be?" the device was silver and only as small as his palm with only one red button and what looked like a miniature satellite attached on the top.

"It's a portable ghost shield," Jack said proudly, "Just finished it last night! It's self-charging from the solar radars and should be enough to last you 48 hours per use, so use it wisely!"

Danny looked at his father in amazement. To him, Jack Fenton always goofed off and didn't take anything seriously. That's why sometimes Danny forgets that his dad was actually a genius inventor.

"Thanks Dad," Danny said with gratitude and put it in his jacket pocket. This could actually be useful.

The drive from home to the airport was a quiet one, each of them having other things to think about. Even if they had seemed cheerful, Jack and Maddie were quite worried about their son. He had just been attacked by a ghost not even a week ago, _and_ he had been hurt. Maddie had even considered chaperoning the trip; she had called Mr Lancer and asked if it was possible but found out that since it was a school programme, only students and school faculty could go on the trip. Apparently, she hadn't been the first parent to ask if they could chaperone.

Jack had agreed with her. That's why he had given those weapons to Danny; he had a sneaking suspicion that his son knew how to use them. Call it a parental intuition, but he was confident that Danny could use the weapons no problem. He wouldn't be surprised if he already had some Fenton weapons in that duffel bag of his.

They reached the airport with ten minutes to spare. Quickly, Danny grabbed his bag and made his way inside, his family towed behind him. It wasn't hard to find the others; Lancer's bald head was shining bright enough like a beacon. He had to stop himself from smiling.

"Danny!" Tucker and Sam exclaimed when they saw him approaching.

"Ah, Mr Fenton, you're just in time. We were just heading to the gates," said Mr Lancer. Then he turned to the others, parents and students, gathered around him, "Well everyone, say your goodbye's, we will be boarding the plane soon," with that note, he picked up his rolling suitcase and made his way to the open gate.

Everyone then bid their parents farewell; even Sam hugged her mother and father goodbye, however brief it was. Tucker's mom gave him a big hug while his dad pats his back fondly. Danny turned to his family.

"Bye mom, bye dad," he smiled.

They hugged him fiercely, his father's giant hand cupping the back of his head, his mother's head in his shoulder. Danny heard them whispering, saying that they were going to miss him, telling him to be careful but he barely heard it. He closed his eyes; it wasn't everyday he felt this protected. It was nice. He could see Jazz behind them hugging Sam and Tucker goodbye. His parents then let him go, letting Jazz have a chance at giving him a hug goodbye.

"I'm gonna miss you so much," said Jazz, hugging him tight. "You, be careful okay? Make sure to call us whenever you can and tell us how it's going. You sure you have all your stuff? All your cash? I have some more if you – "

"Jazz!" Danny cut her off, "I'll be fine," he smiled again, holding her shoulders reassuringly.

With his duffel bag on his shoulder and his family behind him, he walked into the gate, waving them goodbye. Only when the doors were closed, did he let his smile melt from his face. Worry was starting to creep into his mind again. Him leaving Amity wasn't going to change much in two weeks right? Right.

He nodded to himself. He was – once again – being silly. Valerie was here! And she was honestly one of the best fighters he knew. Taking a deep breath, he calmed down. Things were going to be fine. Joining his friends in queue, he gave his ticket to the attendant and stepped inside.

* * *

It was a private plane, fully sponsored by ISEP and only big enough to hold thirty or forty passengers. Tucker insisted that he sit in the middle, forcing Danny to take the window seat as Sam didn't want to be directly in the glare. Not that he minded; if anything, it relaxed him just enough to sit through the flight.

Just then the steward reminded them to shut off all electronic devices that they may have for the reminder of the flight, much to Tucker's dismay.

"But it's a ten hour flight!" he whined. "What the heck am I supposed to do without my baby for ten hours?"

"I'm sure a genius like you will think of something," said Danny.

Sam laughed as Tucker grumbled, half-heartedly paying attention as a stewardess did the routinely gestures; indicating where the nearest exits are in cases of emergencies, how to properly fasten a life jacket and so on.

Only a few moments later did they hear their captain speaking through the intercom to make sure their seatbelts were on and they were ready to take off. Danny could hear the whispers of his classmates, barely able to hold in their excitement.

"Italy, here we come!" Dash roared.

And the whole inside of the plane filled with noise as the A-Listers whooped and cheered, even a few others yelled in agreement. There wasn't denying it; everyone was excited and for once, no one cared about the cliques. Everyone was someone during this trip, and they were treating each other equally. Danny smiled; this was a great way to start the year and even with the underlining unease in his mind, he was excited too.

He smiled at Sam and Tucker, glad that he was going to be sharing this trip with them. He sat back and tried to relax as the plane started taking off.

* * *

God, it was such a long trip. It had barely been two hours into the flight and Danny was already going stir crazy. He couldn't seem to keep still, and he knew that it was annoying Sam and Tucker too. They had tried to keep him busy; taking pictures on Tuckers camera until they maxed out the memory card, watching old movies displayed on the small screen and such, but everything just got so boring after that.

Sam growled, slamming the book she had been reading with a loud _'thud'_ after the fifth time he switched the reading light on and off. "Danny, if you do that one more time, I'll – "

"Sorry, sorry! I'm bored, seriously. I wish I remembered to bring my notebook or something. I couldn't seem to find it," Danny said.

"You mean the one you left at my house?" Sam smirked, pulling out a plain black drawing block from her bag.

Danny looked at her in amazement.

"What?" she said, "It _is_ a ten hour flight, you'd be bored otherwise,"

He laughed, boredom forgotten instantly. Thanking Sam profusely, he grabbed a few pens and pencils that he had shoved in his backpack. Without a second glance, he drew.

This had been a recent development. It was only last year that they discovered Danny had a talent for drawing. He had been spacing off in class, totally exhausted from the late night he had. Barely able to concentrate in class, he started doodling the ectopusses from the last night on the corners of his text book. It had come out looking so life-like and so good that it couldn't be ignored by the two friends.

Sam bought him a drawing block after that so he wouldn't have to ruin his text books and notes doodling all the time. Now Danny drew in it any free time he could spare, finding that it could relax him more than anything ever did.

So he sat there, next to the window, drawing whatever he could see. He drew part of the cabin from his eyesight's point of view, the steward, a man in the second column snoring with his head back, even the overlaying clouds he saw from the window. Danny was so focused on this, he didn't realise that almost two hours had passed, almost five pages full of drawings had been filled in his book.

Looking to the side, he saw that Sam and Tucker had given up in whatever they were doing and opted to sleep instead. Thinking that he should do the same, (he didn't sleep much the night before anyways) he let his body relax in his seat and closed his eyes.

What happened next, he could never explain.

Just as he was on the edge of sleep, he felt a painful prick on the side of his neck. Eyes snapping open, he slapped his neck only to feel something wet. He was horrified to find that it was a little bit of his blood, from where he didn't get to find out.

Just as he was about to get up, he felt his body seize up. His mind suddenly felt hazy and he slumped back into his seat, his eyes fluttering into a close. To anyone else, he only looked like he was sleeping. With a shuddering breath, he gave into the unrelenting haze and passed out.

* * *

Waking up was a nightmare. Somewhere in his haze, he could hear the intercom blaring with the automated voice saying, 'this is not a drill'. The passengers on board were yelling and crying out in panic. The lights in the cabin were flickering and the plane was gliding unsteadily in the air.

He looked outside and saw that it was getting dark outside. Danny tried sitting up, but his body wouldn't cooperate. His head felt heavy and he couldn't concentrate well enough to start saying anything. Just then he realised that Sam and Tucker were unusually silent. With great effort, he turned his head and saw, with mounting horror that they were slumped against each other, seemingly asleep, completely unaware of what was happening around them.

Just then the intercom blared with the voice of who he assumed, was the captain, "All passengers are to buckle up their seatbelts, one of our engines have failed, and we are losing altitude,"

That only managed to increase the panic the passengers were going through. He saw his classmates fumble with their seatbelt harness and buckle themselves in. It was only then that he realised that he and Tucker had unbuckled their seatbelts when they were in the air.

"Tucker!" Danny grunted, voice hardly working. He willed his body to move, to do something. He managed to get his arms to work, limbs automatically fastening the seatbelt on his friend's waist, making sure it was secure. He was thankful that Sam had left her seatbelt on.

He slumped back on his seat, suddenly breathless but satisfied that he had managed to fasten Tucker's seatbelt. The only problem now was his own seatbelt, and he wasn't in the best of shapes at the moment.

 _But why? What the hell happened?_ he thought as he tried willing his arms to work again. The intercom suddenly sounded again, "BRACE YOURSELVES!" And just like that, the air stilled for one minute and the next, Danny was lifted from his seat as the plane took a forty thousand foot dive to the sea below.

Panic stricken, he fumbled for the armrest on his seat and held on tight. All of his remaining energy was on not letting go in fear he would be tossed around inside the plane like a rag doll. He could hear the other people screaming in fear, voices a little muffled from the oxygen masks that were strapped on their faces.

He hoped that since Sam and Tucker were unconscious, they wouldn't need the masks to conserve the excess oxygen they weren't losing. The same thing couldn't be said for him though; already holding on for dear life, he was suddenly breathless. His chest started feeling heavy and his already hazy mind was getting dizzy from lack of oxygen. It sounded like someone was calling his name but he wasn't sure; he was too far gone. Danny closed his eyes, his body going limp and unwillingly, he let go of the armrest.

* * *

Pain was the first thing registered; he ached everywhere, and he was pretty sure that he smelt blood somewhere on him. Was it possible for his hair to hurt too? Then he realised that it was wet, and very cold. He shivered, forcing his eyes to open and saw the ceiling of their private plane.

Danny didn't know how long he had been unconscious, but when he could focus well enough, he could hear screams all around him. The passengers on board were panicking, and he suddenly understood why. There was water everywhere and it was filling up the plane fast.

He was at the back of the plane and he could see the front of it was already completely submerged. It was really dark and he couldn't see for sure, but it sounded like there was muffled screaming from the front. Their seatbelts were stuck. _'Oh God, they're drowning,'_

He stumbled to his feet, aches and pains momentarily forgotten and walked as fast as he can towards his classmates. He didn't care at the moment if anyone saw, and he was pretty sure that they were too panicked to even notice him breaking the belt-buckles by hand to set them free.

When he reached to where Sam and Tucker were sitting, he almost collapsed with relief when he saw that they were awake, and seemingly fine.

"Danny!" they yelled, pulling on their seatbelts, "Help!"

He broke the buckles with ease and said, "Free the others, use your wrist rays! This thing's still sinking!"

It went on like this for the next minute; but when he went to go to the pilot's cabin, he froze. Water was coming in quick from the front; there must be a major leak in there. Danny stumbled inside and found the pilot and the three flight attendants still struggling in their seats trying to get their seatbelts to budge.

The woman, 'Anne' her badge said, saw him first, "Thank God! Please help us, we're stuck!"

Without thinking about it, he broke the buckles with his bare hands right in front of them, far too distracted to see their faces slack with shock.

"I need all of you to keep an open mind, alright?" he said to them, "I'm gonna try and fix this, you guys make sure that everyone out there has life jackets on,"

Numbly, the four adults nodded and fastened life jackets on themselves.

"You should probably put one on too, son," said the pilot, a life jacket suddenly produced in his hand and shoving it in Danny's hands.

With that, they waded through the flooding waters of the cabin and tried to manage the panic happening outside. Danny himself quickly fastened the life jacket on himself, thankful that he had paid attention earlier and had the life jacket secured on in no time.

Making sure that the door to the captain's cabin was closed so nobody would see, he turned half of the plane intangible and allowed the water to drain from the plane. Once the water drained, he saw that there was a giant tear that went through the base of the plane, causing the flood. Danny quickly welded the metal back in place using his ectoplasm through his eyes.

Once he was done, he let go of the plane and let it turn tangible again. It landed on the water with a splash and jostled the whole plane from side to side. Danny wavered on his feet, falling to his knees. He was exhausted, his chest heaving as he panted heavily but he knew he couldn't rest yet. Although the plane was fixed for now, it wouldn't float for long. It would sink after sometime in the water.

He stumbled back to his feet and opened the door of the pilot's cabin, a little relieved that everyone was still preoccupied with themselves to notice him. He waded through the water in the plane, which was only up to his waist now, thankfully not rising in level just yet.

Two pairs of eyes did seek him out though; Sam and Tucker, who had their life jackets on, rushed towards him when he stepped out of the room.

"Danny!" they chorused.

"Are you okay? What happened?" asked Sam, thankfully keeping her voice just an average volume.

Danny leaned heavily against them, mind and body spent. "The plane went down, one of the engines failed and we crashed. I just finished fixing the plane – there was a huge hole, and we were taking up water fast,"

"Why don't we remember any of this?" Tucker asked, eyes shining with subdued panic, "I just remember falling asleep and then," he gestured to the whole place, "this!"

"We were drugged, the three of us, I think," said Danny, touching his neck where he felt the prick of a needle.

Sam and Tucker touched their necks too and winced, confirming that they too had felt the pricks of the needle.

"What the hell…?" said Sam, "Who would do this?"

"I have no idea, but right now, we have to get off of this plane," said Danny.

The second those words came from his mouth, there was a loud bang and the plane lurched violently to the side, making those inside stumble on their already unsteady feet.

"What the hell was that?!" yelled Dash.

Then an ear-splitting screech of bending metal sounded from the roof of the plane; _something_ was bending the metal, tearing the metal itself. With another horrible lurch that knocked them off their feet, the top half of the plane was gone.

What they heard next chilled them to the bone.

"I found you... " a voice sang.

It was him, the ghost that almost destroyed the mall; the one that made Danny bleed from his ears just by screaming. And lucky for him, the ghost seemed to know exactly who he is, maniacal red eyes fixed on only him.

"I wasn't done playing," the ghost said above him, smiling at Danny like he would an old friend.

Danny could feel everyone's eyes rest on him as the ghost kept talking.

"Dude," said Ben, his classmate, "is he talking to you? It looks like he's talking to you,"

"Yeah," said Danny, locking eyes with the ghost, "we've met,"

Suddenly, the ghost dove into the plane, eliciting panicked screams from his class and plane attendants, stopping just inches away from Danny's face, but he didn't even flinch.

"Let's play," whispered the ghost.

* * *

 **Yes, yes. I am evil for leaving it hanging like this. I don't want to make the plot too obvious. Yet.**

 **Hehe.**

 **I just have to apologise for the long update on this chapter, but thanks so much for the support! And those who followed/favourite/reviewed this story, you guys are awesome.**

 **On a side-note, what do you think the ghost's name is? Let me know, and you'll probably find out next chapter.**

 **Read, Review and Enjoy!**


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER 4**

 **I am seriously disappointed in myself right now. I've always had a certain amount of hate against people who leave their stories on hiatus… Kudos to you guys who actually update in scheduled times. Wow. How do you do it? I mean, I left this story for more than a year, not even trying.**

 **College life is a monster, I tell you. End of year assignments are just giants that trample you down for no reason. And I just started an internship. Being a PA is so tiring, hahaa.**

 **But… thank you for the support. I tried my best, but I didn't really get the expectation I was hoping for. Tried the best I could, and I hope it gives you more answers, however vague they may be. And for;**

 **1 One Piece Fan – I would like to meet this person who finds me to just feed me cake :D I don't think I'd mind that much, hahaha. I love cake! Cake is love. Cake is life.**

… **cake is already a year old. bleagh.**

 **-000-**

 _ **PREVIOUSLY:**_

" _Dude," said Ben, his classmate, "is he talking to you? It looks like he's talking to you,"_

" _Yeah," said Danny, locking eyes with the ghost, "we've met,"_

 _Suddenly, the ghost dove into the plane, eliciting panicked screams from his class and plane attendants, stopping just inches away from Danny's face, but he didn't even flinch._

" _Let's play," whispered the ghost._

 **-000-**

"Let's not," said Danny, pulling out a small ecto gun from his pocket, all the while thanking the gods above that it had stayed there and shot the ghost two times in the chest. It fell onto the floor of the plane, disoriented.

Before either of them could do anything else, a number of silver cables came flying towards the ghost and wrapped the tendrils around it, sending pulses of electricity, effectively shocking it.

Where the _hell_ did Tucker get a Jack o' Nine Tails? And all the while Danny was thinking about this, the ghost was wailing like a little kid with a tantrum.

"Let me go! Release me now!"

"Not until you answer me first!" yelled Danny.

The ghost stopped wailing, somehow looking confused that he had actually listened to the teen.

"Okay, good…" said Danny, his eyes narrowed. _What the heck?_ "Now, were you the one who took the plane down?"

There was a restless murmur in the crowd; he suddenly realised that there were so many people watching.

"Yesss…" it hissed reluctantly.

Keeping his temper in check, pinching the bridge of his nose, he growled, "Why? Do you know how many people could have died?"

"He told me to do it," the ghost pleaded.

Danny could feel his face paling even more, hearing his classmates gasp in disbelief, creating a panicked muttering all around them.

"What the _hell_?" yelled Dash.

"What does he mean by that?" said Nathan, voice in a higher octave than usual.

"Who the _fuck_ told you to take down a plane full of kids?!" yelled one of the male flight attendants.

The ghost looked at Danny, a smile creeping onto his face, "He told me that he would help me if I did thisss… he said he would tell me my name," it rasped.

"Why would you willingly do all this for a name?" asked Sam, finally speaking after the panic had died down.

The ghost looked at Danny again, somehow able to pin Danny down with a stare, "I told you that time, he _burnt_ my mind, and he would help me if I did this for him…" It lifted a finger and pointed it at the halfa, "You… remind me a lot of him,"

Danny gulped, hands shaking, "What do you mean?"

"You have the same scent," it rasped.

Danny gasped, mind going blank. _It can't be him. Vlad wouldn't do something this stupid._

"Oh… you know who it isss, don't you young one?" it cackled.

"Fenton, what the fuck is he talking about?" said Kwan, eyes darting between the two. "Who is it?"

"Vlad," Danny gasped, "Vlad did this?"

"Vlad as in Vlad Masters, our mayor?" said another one of Danny's classmates, Jensen.

"No, he's not mayor anymore, remember? He was kicked out of office a few months ago!"

"No way! That doesn't make any sense!"

"That's bullshit!"

"STOP!" yelled Mr Lancer, trying to keep his rising panic at bay, "Moby Dick people! Please, just calm down everyone. We can get through this, just keep a level head," he then looked at Danny, whose face had gone ashen pale, "Now, Mr Fenton, whatever is happening here, you seem to understand more than we do. Please, if you have something to tell us, do it now,"

Danny shook his head, trying desperately to clear his head. When did everything get so blurry? He pressed his palms into his eyes, all the while taking deep, steady breaths; he would _not_ pass out now.

"Okay Mr Lancer…" he muttered, finally looking at his class teacher. Damn, what a _mess_. "I'll tell you all that I can, just not right now. Right _now_ , we have to concentrate on getting off this plane. I don't know if any of you have noticed, but water is still coming in fast. This thing is going to sink if we don't get off quick,"

Before anyone could say anything next, the bindings around the ghost snapped into pieces and it smiled at them. It was like déjà vu for Danny when he saw its jaw detached and elongate into the two-foot opening that he had seen in the mall.

Heart dropping to his stomach, he yelled, "Everybody, get down!" as the air was filled with a screeching wail that rocked the plane and the very waters of the sea. The occupants of the plane desperately tried to cover their ears from the deafening scream. They barely registered when the screams finally stopped, and when they looked up, the ghost was gone. Danny sighed; one problem solved for now.

"Shit!"

Looking over to whoever had just yelled, he took back whatever he just thought. Geez, didn't he ever learn? Whatever the ghost just did, it ripped another hole in the plane, and they were taking up water impossibly fast.

"Oh my God, what do we do?!" someone cried, their voice on the verge of breaking down.

"Hey! Uh, Mr Harrison?" said Danny, talking to the pilot, "Does this plane have a safety slide?"

The pilot, Mr Harrison nodded right away, wading through the plane and opening the cabin door and inflated the yellow safety slide. Danny was glad that he at least was keeping a level head.

Once the yellow safety slide was inflated, Harrison pulled on a piece of string hidden in the corner of the cabin door, successfully detaching the slide and making a raft big enough for all of them to safely float away in.

"Great Gatsby! Thank God! Alright kids, if there is anything that you can salvage, take it and get on the raft, quickly, quickly…" said Mr Lancer, ushering his students to the door.

Danny started wading through the waters – almost at his waist now – and started looking for his duffel bag. He hoped it wasn't too damaged.

"Danny!"

He turned, and to his surprise, his duffel was already in Tucker's hands, along with the rest of his own things.

"Great, thanks!" said Danny, shouldering his bag and leading his friends towards the exit. They were the only ones left on the sinking plane; everyone else was already on the raft ready to go.

"Mr Fenton!" yelled Mr Lancer, "Don't dawdle! Get on the raft now!"

"You heard the man," said Tucker, "let's get out of here,"

With that, they jumped into the water and swam to the raft that had already begun to float away with the currents. Since the raft didn't have any paddles, they had to swim six metres away from the plane, which was almost twenty feet. Danny helped Sam and Tucker get on the raft first before hoisting himself up on it.

The moment when everyone was settled inside the raft, it was like someone had cut a puppet string and everyone sagged into themselves, breathing and sobbing sighs of relief. Danny himself was laying limp on his back, his legs sticking out over the raft. God, he was exhausted. He needed to think, he needed to figure out what the hell was happening and he needed to do it fast but he just couldn't make himself do that just yet.

"That was fun," he groaned into the silence, closing his eyes.

Almost instantly, he felt eighteen pairs of eyes look at him like he had just said something against their mothers.

He snapped his eyes open, meeting the incredulous looks of his classmates and the adults. The first person to open his mouth was, unsurprisingly, Dash.

"That… you call that… whatthefu…" he spluttered, "FUN! He says fun…" Dash was slowly turning red in the face, but instead of blowing up like Danny was expecting, he was surprised when Dash started chuckling. It started off as just small giggles, but quickly escalated to full blown laughs.

"Um…"

Before Danny could say anything at all, next to Dash, Kwan started giggling into his fist, shoulders shaking with a sort of manic humour.

 _Okay_ , Danny thought, sitting up from his slumped position, _this is getting scary._ He started to get really worried when Sam, _Sam_ of all people, _giggled_ into her hands and all the while tears that were illuminated by the moonlight streamed down her face.

"Sam?" said Tucker worriedly, "Are you okay?"

Eyes still streaming with tears, she laughed, "Its n-not even f-funny," she spluttered, giggles still escaping her throat, "Why the f-fuck am I l-laughing?!" she broke off her sentence by laughing again.

 _Oh, look at that_ … Danny thought, _laughter is contagious after all_.

Slowly, laughs and giggles started spreading throughout the whole raft. _Mr Lancer_ had tears in his eyes; the flight attendants were slumped into each other, holding their sides in pain, Mr Harrison was pinching his nose, vainly trying to stop the hysteric laughs aching to burst from his throat.

Danny and Tucker locked eyes, and for some reason, Tuckers lips were twitching into a smile.

"Dude, no, don't," said Danny, the beginnings of chuckles bubbling in the pit of his chest. Tucker's shoulders started shaking with silent laughs, fist shoved in his mouth to keep them from bursting out.

Danny suddenly burst into fitful laughs, holding his sides in pain at the sudden movement. And just like that, the raft floating in the middle of the ocean was echoing the seas with laughs of the newly stranded.

"It's just the shock right?" asked Mikey after gulping in deep breaths, "We're not crazy are we?"

"Ha ha ha! No, no, we're not crazy," said Mara, who was usually a quiet bookworm, was now wiping tears from her eyes, giggles still escaping her mouth, "W-we survived a fucking plane crash! Ha ha!"

That earned another round of laughs, and even a few whoops.

Finally calming down, Danny composed himself. Yes, he was _exhausted_ , but complaining about it never fixed anything. Sitting up with a painful groan – he ached all over – he looked to his friends and was glad to see that they had composed themselves as well.

"Well Tuck, if that PDA of yours is still working; where the hell are we?" Danny asked. He noticed that most of his classmates had stopped with their laughing fits and now looking at the three of them intently.

Tucker pulled his PDA out of his pocket and opened up a few new windows. "Sam, you still have your phone with you?"

"Um…" she rummaged through the small spider backpack that she still carried around, "Yes!" she whooped, holding up her phone.

"Great, now switch it on," said Tucker, eyes never leaving the PDA screen.

"Done,"

"Um, excuse me," said Ben from a few feet away, "Care to share what y'guys are doing?"

"Well…" replied Tucker, "Nowadays, it's pretty easy to track the location of someone's phone, as long as you know where to go to look. I just need her phone to be switched on…" he trailed off, doing a series of clicks with his PDA pen, "… and, voila! I know where we are!"

"Excellent!" Mr Lancer crowed, "Where are we?"

Danny peeked in to the PDA screen and sighed, "Well, that puts a damper on my mood," he addressed the whole raft, "We are in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, which I'm pretty sure I knew already,"

Groans of disappointment filled the air.

But then Danny saw something in the PDA he didn't see before. He snatched the gadget from his friend's hand, ignoring the indignant "hey!" and looked closely. Sure, when using an atlas to find out where you are will get you nowhere, but since Tucker was using a live satellite feed, Danny saw a tiny blip on the radar, about a hundred kilometres away from their location.

He handed the PDA back to its owner and ignoring the aches in his body, stood up on the raft, causing it to rock dangerously.

"Hey!" yelped Jensen, a boy he was pretty good friends with, "What'cha doing there man?" he held on to the sides of the raft frantically, as did many of the others when it continued to sway.

Barely hearing the protests, Danny scanned his surroundings. It was times like these where he was thankful for his powers; using his ghost vision, he did a full 360˚ turn on the raft until he saw it – there – he could barely see it himself but it was there.

An island. _Land_.

He rubbed his forehead, heaving a sigh of relief. "Thank God," he whispered.

"Danny?" said Ben, "Um… dude, you wanna sit down?"

"Yeah Danny, you don't look too good," said Sam, reaching up to pull on his hand. "Did you see something?"

Sitting down with a heavy sigh, he nodded, "Yeah, there's an island, about 100 kilometres away from our position," he was tired and achy, and he couldn't care less about the people hearing into their conversation right now.

"Wait wait…" said Mr Harrison, "You're telling us you saw an island, _one-hundred kilometres_ away, at night, with only your bare eyes?" he asked incredulously.

 _God, I am in so much trouble…_ he thought, holding his head in his hands. He was seriously thinking he needed to pass out for a bit.

"Yes, I saw a piece of land, _one-hundred kilometres_ away, at night, with my bare eyes," he said, looking directly at the pilot, "It's a gift,"

Yep, as of right now, he really didn't care if he transformed into Danny Phantom right there and then. He just wanted _out_ of this damn place.

Slumping down on the raft, he pointed to his left, "It's that way,"

It was almost funny when they turned their heads to the direction that he was pointing at, like cats would follow pen lasers and then look back at him in confusion when they didn't see anything.

"You sure you're not seeing things man?" asked Ben, his grey eyes standing out in the moonlight, "I mean, you were tossed around like a ragdoll when we crashed. Maybe you have a concussion?"

"Actually, yeah," said Tracey, Mikey's fraternal twin, "I was in the row next to yours, and you were sort of…hanging on for dear life when the plane went down, and –" she was suddenly aware that everyone was looking at her, "– and I guess you hit your head…?" she trailed off self-consciously.

"Alright, Mr Fenton," Mr Lancer interrupted, "I asked this question earlier, and I'll ask again now; what on Earth is going on? And what do you know that we don't?"

"Mr Lancer –" Danny started but was interrupted once again.

"And don't make excuses like 'there's no time', because we're stuck in a raft," he gestured to everything around him, "Time is _all_ that we have right now,"

"Listen to me," Danny insisted, "It's not just something I can tell you, because frankly, this is bigger than all of you and I don't expect you to just accept something like this just like that! Heck, I'm still trying to make sense of it all, and this happened four years ago!"

There was a stunned silence in the group, and then –

"You can't just expect us to sit here without explanations! All of us could have died tonight, and that's the best you can do?" yelled Connor, the flight attendant, "We deserve answers," he finished determinedly.

"I'll tell you what I can," said Danny, glaring at Connor, "But only after we get everyone on that island because it's freezing and temperatures at the Atlantic are only going to get lower,"

"I think that's a great idea," said Mr Lancer, "How do we get there?"

"I have an idea, actually," said Tucker.

Heads turned to the techno geek, making him grin sheepishly, "It's simple; the technology on the Fenton Thermos is used to suck in ghosts like a vacuum. If I can reverse the mechanism, then it should turn into an aerodynamic motor of sorts," Tucker finished.

It didn't take Tucker any longer than five minutes. When he was done, he carefully stood up on the raft – making sure that he didn't rock it too much – and tested it out in the air. There was a sudden jolt as the thermos blasted out a blue-hued swirl of wind. Tucker tried in vain to keep it controlled, but the thermos was giving out too much energy and he spent a few moments stumbling on the already unstable

In fear of tipping the raft over, Danny quickly stood up and grabbed the thermos from his friend's hands and clicked the 'off' button. There was a moment of silence as they tried to gain composure, before –

"IT WORKED!" yelled Tucker.

Whoops filled the air as the others realised that they actually had a chance to get out of the water.

While everyone else was celebrating the small victory, Tucker whispered to Danny, "We do have one problem,"

"What?" the half-ghost whispered back.

"It's almost out of charge, it won't carry us the rest of the trip there," Tucker said grimly, "I know it's asking a lot, but there is something you can do,"

"Tuck, I'm on my last reserves here, I'll be completely useless after that," said Danny.

"Dude, I know, but we're desperate! We'll freeze if we stay here any longer!" the techno-geek half yelled, making sure he was not heard.

Danny sighed; he really hated it when Tucker was right, "Okay,"

Tucker nodded grimly, handing him the thermos, "You're navigating," he said loud enough for everyone to hear.

Danny braced himself at the end of the raft, thermos facing towards the sea. He willed the ectoplasm to surge from his hands to power the thermos. There was a momentary glow of neon green and suddenly it roared to life, jolting the raft and everyone in it.

There were several yelps of panic as Danny struggled to gain control of the small object in his hands – did Tucker have to make it so strong?!

"Everybody, hold on!" he yelled, thrusting the thermos forward and setting the raft in motion.

The still night was suddenly filled with yelps and screams again as they zipped pass the ocean at an alarming speed. Danny made sure that he kept with the navigation, all the while constantly making sure that he poured more energy into the thermos as they got closer to their destination.

The journey only took ten minutes in reality but for Danny, it was too long. When the island was finally visible to everyone's eyes, his hands were shaking violently and his eyes could no longer focus. He relied on only his senses to finish the journey and to make sure that everyone reached the island safely.

He could feel Sam and Tucker next to him, bracing their hands on his back when they felt him tilt to the side. When he felt the raft falter and the sound of sand filled his ears, he released the thermos and they finally stopped. A dizzy spell hit Danny again and he listed to the side, only to be caught by Tucker.

"You okay dude?" he asked as he held Danny steady. The halfa could only groan, slumping into his best friend's hold, too drained to do anything.

Thankfully for Danny, everyone else was too busy ogling at the fact that they had actually arrived at the island no one knew about. They made their way off of the raft slowly, feet thumping against the sand.

Danny was grateful that everyone was so distracted. He tried his best to regain control, but he was exhausted. His whole body was shaking, he could hear his shallow breathing and he was cold. Shivering; and that almost never happened. He could hear his friends quietly ask him if he was okay, gentle hands brushing against his body.

He decided then that it wasn't worth the effort. He's done with the day, and he was tired of fighting. With one last shuddering breath, he listed to the side and blacked out.

Tucker caught him.


End file.
